This invention relates generally to video game accessories and more particularly concerns a holster for a video game controller.
Video games typically involve one to four players, each of whom has a separate controller. The family video center is, therefore, when video games are not being played, a tangle of wires and randomly discarded controllers. Generally, the next game players are left with the task of untangling the mess before they can play, unless someone else volunteers their time to straighten the mess while the games are not in use. The tangle is usually left on the floor, so the wires are sometimes caught up in feet, usually of younger children, which pull the cords and jerk or step on the controllers, damaging them beyond use.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a video game controller holster for storing a controller when it is not in use. Another object of this invention is to provide a video game controller holster which is laterally connectable to identical holsters to create a single assembly for storing more than one controller. A further object of this invention is to provide a video game controller holster which is vertically stackable with identical holders to create a single assembly for storing more than one controller. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a video game controller holster which has controller supports which are adjustable to accommodate a variety of differently structured controllers. It is also an object of this invention to provide a video game controller holster which can be suspended by a bracket from the top of a video box or monitor, supported by a bracket on which the bottom of a video box or monitor is seated or maintained by a bracket in a free standing condition. Another object of this invention is to provide a video game controller holster which is adaptable to store a headset associated with the video game.
In accordance with the invention, a holster is provided for storing a video game controller.
A cross has projections which extend outwardly from the intersection of vertical and horizontal axes. Each projection ends in a neck and all the necks are dimensioned and located isometrically in relation to their respective axes. A pair of spaced-apart rods, one extending forwardly from each of the left and right projections of the cross, support the controller. Each rod has a detent on its forward end to prevent the controller from sliding off the rods.
A mounting bracket has a slat. A first collar is fixed on and divides the slat into forward and rearward tongues. The collar has an interior contour complimentary to a contour of the isometric necks so that the bracket may be coupled to any neck of the cross inserted in the collar. Thus, the bracket can be connected to the uppermost projection so that the holster can be suspended by the rearward tongue, perhaps from the top of the video box, or connected to the lowermost projection so that the holster can be supported by the rearward tongue, perhaps by resting the bottom of the video box on the tongue or simply held upright by the forward and rearward tongues in a free-standing arrangement.
A second collar has back-to-back interior contours complimentary to the contour of the isometric necks so that any cross may be coupled to one or more identical crosses by inserting one of the necks of the cross and one of the necks of the identical cross into the back-to-back interior contours. Thus, holsters can be stacked vertically or connected laterally using the back-to-back collar. Any number of holsters can be connected to hold the desired number of controllers. In the vertical arrangement, one bracket will suspend or support all of the holsters. In the lateral arrangement, multiple brackets can be used to suspend or support the assembly.
Preferably, the horizontal projections of the cross each have an elongated slot. The slots are aligned on a common horizontal axis and the rearward ends of the rods are engagable in the slots. This allows the distance between the rods to be varied to accommodate a variety of differently structured controllers. In one preferred embodiment, the slots have widened segments at intervals and the rods have elliptical cross-sections so that the rearward ends of the rods may be rotatively engaged in and disengaged from the widened segments. Prongs on the rods engage with the front and back surfaces of the cross projections when the rods are rotated in the slots to a position in which the detents on the rods are extending upwardly. This strengthens the assembly. The rod prongs and the cross projections may have complementary dimples and nodules on their faces so that the rods will be locked in engagement in the slots when the detents are upwardly oriented.
The upward projection may also be provided with a slot aligned on a horizontal axis so that one of the rods can be forwardly extended from it, perhaps to support a set of earphones or other accessory. This slot may also have a widened segment so that the rearward end of the rod may be rotatively engaged in and disengaged from the widened segment.
It is preferable for balance that the vertical axis bisects the cross. For the same reason, the cross is preferably symmetrical about the vertical axis. To allow the cross to be used with its up side up or down, it is also preferable that the horizontal axis bisects the cross.